WHEN YOU HAVE TO LEAVE THEM BEHIND,

LEAVE THEM IN THE LOVING CARE OF

C-U Pet Sitting Service (CUPSS)

352-4709

owned and operated by

Janus Woods

member of Pet Sitters International

member of Pet Sitters Associates, LLC

graduate of Red Cross Pet Emergency Care course

serving Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy

(Mahomet and other locations by special arrangement)

Why is pet sitting in your home better than using a kennel?

Each animal reacts differently to being away from his or her own turf. Some may be OK with giving up their comfortable and familiar surroundings of home to be boarded/caged in a noisy place full of animals they've never met. Others may feel abandoned or punished. Can you truly enjoy your well-deserved vacation knowing that your beloved pet may be fearful, confused, and upset? Boarding your pets can also expose them to health risks – contagious diseases and fleas, for example. If your pet is safe in its home, it will remain as healthy as when you left it. That warm fuzzy face will be at the door to greet you after you’ve dragged yourself off the last plane connection, perhaps hours late, long after the kennel or clinic has closed for the night. Your pets will still miss you, but staying in their own home assures them that they have not been abandoned. And I make sure they are well cared for, and know they’re still loved!

What will pet sitting cost your family?

Every home situation and pet is different. If you have only one pet, hiring a pet sitter may cost more than putting the animal in a kennel or boarding facility. But if you have two pets the costs may be no different, and if you have a crowd a pet sitter can even be economical! My rates are listed on the enclosed green page by species, number of pet(s), and number of daily visits. The charges reflect standard 2001 rates for a 20-25 minute visit with one dog or two cats in the Midwest (east and west coast rates are about 30% higher). By choosing CUPSS you will actually be paying HALF the standard rate, however, because each CUPSS visit is 45-50 minutes long! I believe in spending a lot of quality time with each pet, making sure they know they are loved and appreciated, not abandoned. I will never rush in, dump food and water into your pet’s bowls, clean a litter box or turn your dog out into your yard for 5 minutes, and rush out. I am in this business because I love animals and hate to see them suffer emotional pain without their beloved humans. I will never ignore your pet’s psychological needs, which I believe cannot be met in one or two 20 minute visits a day. If you agree, you’ll want CUPSS as your pet’s caretaker. If you disagree, there are several other area pet sitters you can call. I think you will find, however, that their rates for a 20-25 minute visit are very close to my fees for a 45-50 minute visit.


All of CUPSS’ visits are made by me personally (I will never entrust your pet to an apprentice), so it is a must to BOOK YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY. If you hate talking to the answering machine, send email to . I check it several times a day, and a written record of your requested dates and number of visits is very helpful to have in your files. I can also reply to email late at night, when I do my office work, while it may take me several days to catch you by phone. But whether by phone or email, book as soon as you know you need a sitter.

My Basic Rates are for reservations made 2-8 weeks in advance of your departure date. Because I often work 8-10 hours a day for 4-5 weeks in a row without a day off , I charge extra for bookings made with LESS than 2 weeks’ notice. For any requests made just 2 weeks to 3 days prior to your departure, I will charge an additional 10% to the Basic Rates. If you give me less than 3 days’ notice, I will add 25% to my Basic Rates. While this may seem unfair for clients’ emergency trips, it greatly disrupts my schedule to squeeze in such last-minute visits. I may take pity on clients with emergencies IF their visits have caused minimal disruption to my life, but since I will never “short” another pet’s visit time, last-minute bookings end up costing me my dinner hour, sleep, or time with my own four wonderful cats. I cannot run my business as an on-call service. So please BOOK EARLY!

Like to save money? Book even EARLIER, or join CUPSS Key Club!

You can save 10% off my Basic Rates by booking your reservation MORE THAN 8 WEEKS IN ADVANCE OF YOUR DEPARTURE DATE (sorry – offer not good for reservations that include the busy holidays listed at the bottom of the rates page). Additionally, if you opt to become a CUPSS Key Club member and permanently leave your key with me, you will receive a $5 discount on each booking. Just sign an ongoing contract, and I’ll keep your house key (coded by your pet’s name, NOT yours or your address) in my locked key box. We can then arrange future visits by phone or email. I’ll leave a self-addressed stamped envelope with a written Pet Sitter’s Report and Invoice, and you will just write a check for my fee and pop it in your outgoing mail within 24 hours of your return. This saves you $5 AND the hassle of arranging two additional face-to-face meetings per trip for me to pick up and return your key. Many of my clients find this system most efficient.

What about lots of pets? Or unusual pets? How are costs determined?

Many of us share our lives with a mixture of creatures. I offer special billing for those of you who own a combination of cats and dogs. My policy is to charge 100% of the dog rate plus 50% of the cat rate. For example, if you booked me four weeks in advance of your vacation for two daily visits with your one dog and two cats, my fee would be $35 a day: $25 for two visits with the dog + $10 (one-half of my usual $20 fee) for two visits with two cats = $35. Add another cat, and the total cost for two daily visits would increase to $40: $25 for the dog + $15 (one-half of $30) for two visits with three cats. Add a fourth cat and there would be NO increase (since I believe cats thrive best in pairs, I charge the same for 2 as for 1, for 4 as for 3, and for 6 as for 5). Add another dog, and the total cost for two daily visits would increase to $45: $30 for the dogs + $15 (one-half of $30) for two visits with three cats. I cannot provide two visits a day for your dogs but only one visit a day for your cats (the cats KNOW I’m in the house and will expect their share of time and attention; AFTER ALL, they are SURE they’re the superior beasts!). I do not discriminate on the basis of species, and I will give every pet her/his equal share of love and care every time I am in your home.


Note that I do not offer the option of just 1 visit a day for dogs. I do not believe dogs should be left alone 23 hours a day, even in an outdoor run. If outdoor dogs are provided proper shelter from heat and cold, I will serve them with 2 visits per day. INDOOR DOGS NEEDS THREE VISITS PER DAY, since their urination/defecation needs require an outing at least every 8 hours. I have tried to work with clients who only wanted to pay for 2 visits per day on the premise that their dogs could stay outside for 16 hours at a time, and I have seen this cause the animals extreme stress. Neither can I “share” pet sitting with friends or neighbors. My liability insurance does not cover sharing the responsibility of your home care or your pet’s welfare, and it requires too much daily coordination to reassure me that your pet’s needs have indeed been met. I trust no one but myself with your precious pets!

If your home is more than ten miles from my central Champaign location, if you have unusual pets (such as the live coral reef aquarium in the home of one of my more challenging clients), or if your pets have special needs, you and I will come to mutually agreeable terms about the fee for your unique situation based on my extra driving time and gasoline costs or whatever extra time or skill a special needs pet may require.

What services will you get for your dollars?

As I noted above, CUPSS’ standard service includes a 45-50 minute visit. In addition to the obvious supplying of food and water, and/or daily cleaning of litter boxes, I spent most of that time doing whatever your pet desires: walking on a leash, playing ball in your fenced backyard, brushings, lap-sitting, swinging a fishing rod toy with a feather “bird” attached, or just sitting on the floor and talking about your pet’s needs that day (some cats have a LOT to say about being left alone!). Any special care that your pets may need¾or simply want¾can be negotiated during our initial interview. If you wish, I will water plants, bring in your mail and/or newspaper, and rearrange blinds or leave different lights lit to give your home a lived-in look. In winter, I can even shovel a small path to your door, if time permits and you leave your snow shovel handy! After all, avoiding a break in keeps both your pets AND the pet sitter safe and warm. Upon your return, you will find a written Pet Sitter’s Report and Invoice, detailing the care provided during my visits and including special notes about your pet’s behavior. Read through this report and call me if anything seems unusual. I want your input and feedback about my services. I adhere to all of the Pet Sitters International Standards of Excellence published on the reverse side of the green Rates page.

While I am more than willing to “go the extra mile” to maintain my clients’ home, I have encountered some unique situations that have cost me many extra hours of work (see “A True Story from the Life of a Pet Sitter” below). Several of my clients’ furnaces have stopped heating in mid-winter. One boxer puppy tore a head-sized hole entirely through their mattress (they had left him uncrated in their bedroom). Recently a golden retriever completely covered a client’s bedroom Berber carpeting in diarrhea between my visits. Ideally, the client is available by phone and we can consult on the best course of action. Practically, however, clients could be away from their hotel, or spending the day en route, and I have to decide for myself the best course of action. I will always err on the side of doing “too much” if you are unreachable (call a heating repair person, a plumber, or a carpet cleaner) in my best attempt to restore your home to the condition in which you left it. If necessary, I will pay for the repairs myself. However, unless I myself caused the damage through neglect or inadvertent accident, I will expect the client to repay me


immediately, and compensate me for the additional time I spent in their home. No one wants to come home after a long day of flying to find their bedroom covered in feces, even if I have appropriately taken their dog to the vet for treatment (but if you WOULD prefer that I not deal with such a mess myself, please make that clear to me when you hire me). I am a “take charge” kind of person, with a good amount of common sense, but that doesn’t mean I would always do things the way YOU would… another reason to be sure you’ve left me a complete itinerary and backup phone numbers!

What do I need from you before you leave?

All of my clients are required to execute a signed contract and fill out information about their pets, their home, and their travel plans (detailed below). I will always need a phone number to reach you in case of emergency, and I prefer that a nearby neighbor or friend have an extra house key (in case some unexpected major health disaster should happen to ME, someone would need to find a replacement for me or care for your pet themselves). You will also need to notify your regular veterinarian that I have permission to obtain emergency care for your pet(s) in case of their sudden illness. We will go over all these details during a free initial interview in your home, to be held no more than 5 days prior to your departure (so your pets will remember me). We will schedule this home visit when you book your first reservation with CUPSS.

During that interview, we will fill out a pet/client information form and a single-visit contract (or an ongoing contract if you plan to join the Key Club). I will get a key to your home at this time (if you’ve made one especially for me, please try it out to be sure it works before giving it to me). Most importantly, I will meet your pet(s) and find out the location of their favorite places to hide, where their food, leash, and/or toys are stored, and where your cleaning supplies are kept (in case of any hairballs or urine/feces accidents). I will want you to make it clear to your pet(s) that I am “approved” to be in their home (silly or not, they DO understand).

To care for your loved ones as if you were home, I need quite a bit of information from you (in writing) on CUPSS’ pet/client information form:

· the brand name and amount of food given to each pet

· the time(s) of day your pets are used to being fed and walked

· behaviors you do and don’t allow

· a brief profile of your pet’s normal behavior, so I can tell if she or he is exhibiting abnormal symptoms that may indicate illness or distress

· your veterinarian’s name, address, and phone number¾please make advance vet arrangements authorizing me to obtain treatment in case of emergency

· contact information for a neighbor who lives close by, has a spare key to your home, and agrees to be a backup in case of natural disaster or an accident that prevents my caring for your animals (I always carry a wallet card for each pet under my care, instructing medical personnel to call the neighbor ASAP should I be unconscious and unable to call myself)